Mexico’s Newest Industry: Making Fun Of Trump

Come to think of it, that seems to be everyone’s favorite pastime

BY: ALE BORBOLLA

“Listen up, Cheeto, your wall ain’t gonna happen.” This is the message three beer making friends are sending United States President Donald Trump. The medium for this message? Beer, the international friend maker.

Mexicans Isaac Aroche and Luis Enrique de la Reguera joined American Dave Cole to create Amigous, a double New England India Pale Ale that has a subtle mango taste. The three met at a beer event in Mexico in 2016, while Trump’s campaign was in full force. They clicked immediately, and came up with a beer that was a mix of the best of both countries. From the U.S. came the beer recipe and Mosaic hops, which is known in Mexico but not very widely used. The Mexican touch comes in the mango taste.

The Amigous label portrays what Trump would look like as a grumpy, gun slinging mariachi. Maybe the sour look on his face is because he’s visualizing all the bad hombres pouring into America at this very moment. Between the dejected gaze and his outfit, he kind of looks like one of the Three Amigos has been left behind by his compadres. Also, his mariachi pants are held up by a swastika belt buckle, and the label’s reverse side declares that he belongs “in a mad house, not the White House.” (Well, we agree with them there.)

And yes, the beer creators purposely misspelled amigo for the brew’s name. They’re poking fun at how badly some Americans pronounce the Spanish word for friend.

Amigous was developed in Cru Cru brewery in Mexico City and launched this past May. The initial reaction from customers surprised its creators. The original batch of 1,200 bottles and 400 liters on tap sold out in the very first week.

They’re not the only brewhouse protesting Trump. Cucapá, a Mexican craft brewery in Mexicali, tricked Trump supporters into financing a massive fiesta held south of the border held on October. How? They sold them T-shirts with Trump’s face and the words “I support Trump” written on them. The joke is, when the shirts were exposed to the sun, a clown nose appeared on the Donald’s face, and “I support” was replaced with “el que lo lea,” turning the entire sentence in to “Donald el que lo lea,” a variation of a childish but well-known Mexican saying. The phrase makes little sense if translated into English (it literally means “Donald is the one who reads it”) but Cucapá’s owner says they chose it precisely because it's an in-joke that only Mexicans and Mexican-Americans will understand.

But it’s not just brewers that are cashing in on the anti-Trump sentiment. As you might have read about in our last issue, a Mexican business man who was offended by Trump’s anti-Mexican remarks is about to release a brand of toilet paper named Trump (although we think they should have gone with the name Donald Dump). The toilet paper’s slogans include “Smoothness without borders,” and “This is the wall we will pay for.”

Trump toilet paper is expected to go on sale later this year, and 30% of the proceeds will be donated to migrant support programs.